SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Wednesday, December 1, 2004 · Last updated 5:28 p.m. PT
3 killed at Zanzibar voter registration
ZANZIBAR, Tanzania -- Police opened fire Wednesday on protesters at a voter registration center in an opposition stronghold in this Indian Ocean archipelago, killing three people, officials and witnesses said.
The clash began when members of the Civic United Front tried to prevent armed riot police from entering a registration center at Ngombeni on the island of Pemba, regional police Commander Faraji Kayuga said.
Opposition leaders said the riot police were trying to intimidate potential voters, while authorities said police were conducting normal security patrols.
A 16-year-old boy died at the scene, Kayuga said. Two other people perished in a hospital, officials said. There were unconfirmed reports of dozens of others suffering minor injuries.
Police have arrested more than 50 people in connection with violence at several polling stations since registration began earlier this week, Kayuga said.
Two people were injured when a ruling party official set registration documents on fire at another registration center, police said.
Witnesses said Kazija Ibrahim of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi party acted after opposition officials accused his party of trying to cheat by registering soldiers and police from mainland Tanzania. Only permanent residents of Zanzibar are allowed to vote in the semiautonomous island chain.
For his part, Ibrahim accused the opposition of registering underage voters, poured kerosene on registration documents and set them on fire, Kayuga said. Ibrahim and another man were hospitalized with burns.
Violence has often marred elections on Zanzibar. International observers declared the 2000 general elections seriously flawed, and each side accuses the other of arming militias ahead of the October 2005 vote.
Opposition figures claim Tanzanian officials are sending troops from the mainland to Pemba, an island of some 300,000 people that has never voted for the ruling party.